When Cindy and Jeff Gilliland were raising their two sons in the Mid-Cities area between Dallas and Fort Worth, they longed for that proverbial village that it takes to raise children.
“Having family in the same town as us would have been a game changer,” said Mr. Gilliland, 69. “My folks only lived 35 minutes away from us at the time, but it was just far enough to be a pain in the neck.” (Ms. Gilliland’s parents lived in Connecticut.)
The couple managed without the dream village, and when their sons became adults, they moved to the bustle of Dallas. They loved it.
Ten years later, in the summer of 2024, their eldest son called and asked his parents to move to Denton, a satellite city 40 miles north. Scott Gilliland, 38, and his wife, Raegan, 41, had been assigned as co-lead pastors at the First United Methodist Church of Denton, and had three children under the age of 10. They wanted the village that Mr. and Mrs. Gilliland never had.
“We wanted to help,” said Ms. Gilliland, 65.
But it was a different playing field this time. Since 2020, as Dallas has sprawled outward, Denton County’s population has exploded, surpassing 1 million residents in 2023.
“It’s positioned where I-35 splits between Dallas and Fort Worth, which, depending on traffic, are both about 45 minutes away,” said their agent, Susan Cooksey of Century 21. “There’s a lot of activity, which means there’s a lot of employment,” she continued, noting that prices “shot up” in 2022 before receding as interest rates rose.
Last year, Ms. Cooksey took the couple to see several homes in the Denton area. They wanted a single-level house close to their grandchildren’s home, with at least three bedrooms and either a pool or a lot big enough to put one in. They had about $600,000 to spend. “Pools are a grandkid magnet,” said Ms. Gilliland.
Ms. Cooksey found a few houses that met most of that criteria in the Southridge neighborhood, known for its distinctive spiral street pattern and ranch homes. “It’s a really unique-looking Texas neighborhood,” said Mr. Gilliland. “Not a whole lot of homes go on the market there.”
Jonathan Zizzo for The New York Times
A few blocks away, this four-bedroom, 3.5-bath brick home sat on a 0.42-acre corner lot. Built in 1964, the 2,839-square-foot house had some original details, including built-in glass-front cabinets, a brick fireplace and hearth, wood paneling, and wood-beam ceilings in the dated eat-in kitchen. Recent updates included new carpeting in the bedrooms and a new HVAC system. A stylish brick-floored family room had glass doors leading out to a covered patio, an attached two-car garage and a wraparound driveway that took up a lot of space, leaving little room for a pool. The price was $565,000, with annual taxes of about $6,037.
Century 21
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